How to Treat Turf Burns

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Turf burns are very painful abrasions caused by skidding across the lawn or astro turf. This is a common injury to sports players such as football, soccer and lacrosse. Infection can set in if not treated promptly and correctly.

Clean the wound promptly. By nature of the cause of injury, turf burns are always dirty. Wash the turf burn with soap and water and rub gently with a gauze pad to remove all the debris. Use plenty of water.

Apply a bit of peroxide to the turf burn. The bubbles will help free more of the dirt. Do this to remove the initial dirt but then not again. Peroxide can actually eat away tissue in open wounds. Do not soak in the peroxide for this reason. Wash with soap and water once again and rinse well.

Apply iodine or triple antibiotic ointment to prevent infection and promote healing of the turf burn. Apply a sterile bandage to keep dirt and debris out of the wound.

Watch the turf burn for signs of infection. These signs can be raised red area around the wound, pus or red streaks which may indicate that the infection is spreading through the blood stream. If red streaks appear, you need to see a doctor right away to stop the infection.

Remove bandage and cleanse daily. Reapply triple antibiotic ointment each time and apply a new sterile bandage.

Things Needed

Sterile bandages

Iodine

Triple Antibiotic

Peroxide

Gauze pads

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